I have to say that my classroom Instagram account has really helped me wrap up my days with a sense of reflecting and a feeling of "hey, we really did do some great stuff today!" It's so easy to get bogged down in the negative, and if you are like me, those moments stick with me and weigh me down on my trip home. I have gotten used to snapping pics throughout the day since I started blogging a few years back, and it's a habit that's been meaningful to me. I decided to start posting some of these "daily moments in the art room" on Instagram when I'm not ready for a full blog post, but want to look back at my day and see what the best parts were. It really does give me a good feeling about our productive day and gets me recharged for the next day. I've connected with many new artists and teachers this way, and I don't have to give a written explanation of the posted pics, just a nice visual of a good moment in the day. It really has become one of my favorite times of the day, after dinner, on the couch while my kids are doing homework, Instagramming away - it helps to have a device to take the pics and post from, like an iPad. I recommend you give it a try if you haven't - just start the picture snapping habit and create a separate account for your classroom pics. Mine is "smartestartists" and there's a link to the right. I'd love to follow you if you are on!
(Thanks to Mary Lou for the great conversation during our recent meeting that got me thinking about this!)
Here are a few from this week:
I connected straight away with how you post parts of the art day to get clarity and a sense of achievement. The whirlwind of teaching can take clarity away, then exhaustion kicks in leaving no energy to see what has happened.I haven't played with instagram but will give it a try. Thanks Hope.
ReplyDeletePlease let me know if you start an account, Gretchen! Glad to know I'm not alone in feeling a little overwhelmed and saturated at the end of each day - I guess it's a sign of giving it our all!
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